Our National Parks Student Journalism Project

There are 391 parks, preserves, historical parks and battlefields, monuments, historic sites, memorials and other units that are part of the National Park Service of the United States in 2008. They attracted approximately 275 million visitors last year.

We have visited some of these places during the past five years and have prepared a series of, we hope, more than 250 interesting feature articles and photographs about activities, the environment, scenic rivers, and recreation areas, the unusual places, monuments, historical sites, cultural heritage, and the people of Our National Parks.

Our spring 2008 travel project focuses on parks and historic sites of the San Francisco Bay area. We are also working on features about South Florida's area parks once again. Furthermore, we will be adding a new group of articles about U.S. national parks issues and problems this spring. We hope to post our work from these projects in late April and early May.

Our latest finished project is the San Juan National Historic Site and neighboring Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. We have recently published our fall 2007 work.

Finally, we remind our readers that the information in these articles was current when it was posted, but information may have changed as time passes. Each article that we prepare has a posting date at the top right of the story page. Always check for changes in fees, hours of operation, dates, and other information at each park before traveling.

Featured Parks and Locations

	San Francisco Bay area national parks and areas. During a recent trip to the San Francisco Bay area, we visited national parks, recreation areas, and historic sites. We focus on world-known locations such as Alcatraz, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Muir Woods, Point Reyes National Seashore, the area's maritime history, and San Francisco's remarkable history and unique cultural offerings.
	Issues and problems facing Our National Parks. This section of our Web site examines many of the most pressing issues and problems that involve our national parks at both the national and regional levels. A new set of stories has been added this spring and we also offer our stories from spring 2007. In these reports, we talk to park officials and experts about funding, safety, access, staffing, attendance, volunteerism, animals and plants, development, conservation, and preservation.
	Old San Juan and the San Juan National Historic Site. We explore the history and culture of five centuries of life in Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Our focus is on the San Juan National Historic Site and its historic forts known as San Cristobal, San Juan de la Cruz, and San Felipe del Morro. We look at the people, historic events, structures, arts and crafts, and other aspects of life in this unusual location.

The National Mall and the historical places of Washington, D.C.
Our most recent project in spring 2007 focuses on downtown Washington, D.C., and the National Mall. We tell readers about the Mall, its numerous memorials and monuments, parks, several historical homes and sites, a few spring festivals, and some of the most interesting museums of the Smithsonian Institution that are along the National Mall and nearby streets.

Photos above left by Bruce Garrison, Vincent Daniello, and Cai Yan; above right courtesy of the National Park Service.